COVID-19 Rapid Response Crisis Checklist

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LATEST AS OF 03/23/2020
RAPID CRISIS RESPONSE
COVID-19
CHECKLIST
Copyright © 2020 by Boston Consulting Group. All rights reserved.For more information, contact BCGRapidResponseNetwork@bcg.com

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Copyright © 2020 by Boston Consulting Group. All rights reserved.For more information, visit https://www.bcg.com/featured-insights/coronavirus.aspx
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Manage cash
and liquidity
Ensure cost
discipline
Revise financial plan
and perform scenario-
based stress tests
TEAM HEALTH
& SAFETY
Reduce risk
of transmission
Support those who are/
may be infected
Reduce stress
and boost morale
Ensure compliance with
regulatory requirements
EXECUTION
CLARITY
Coordinate and scale
response and planning
adaptively
Engage the
organization
Empower
the team
Lead with purpose
& integrity
BUSINESS
STRENGTH
Preserve top line and build
trust with customers
Reinforce ability
to supply
Adapt resources to
meet business needs
Monitor & respond
to market and
competitive dynamics
Prepare for bounce-back
scenarios
BCG’S COVID-19 RAPID CRISIS RESPONSE
CHECKLIST
Treat this as a rapidly evolving
document, current version as of 3/23
Help us enhance this critically
important checklist by sharing your
perspective in our survey
Additional COVID-19 related
thinking & material
FINANCIAL
RESILIENCE
Designed to be digestible yet
comprehensive for leaders,
owners and operators
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For more information, visit https://www.bcg.com/featured-insights/coronavirus.aspx
Copyright © 2020 by Boston Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
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Manage cash and liquidityA
Ensure cost disciplineB
Revise financial plan and
perform scenario-based
stress tests
C
Reduce risk
of transmission
A
Support those who
are/may be infected
B
Reduce stress
and boost morale
C
D
Coordinate and scale response
and planning adaptively
A
Engage the organizationB
Empower the teamC
Lead with purpose
& integrity
D
A
Reinforce ability to supplyB
Adapt resources to
meet business needs
C
Monitor & respond to market
and competitive dynamics
D
Prepare for bounce
back scenarios
E
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TEAM HEALTH & SAFETY1 BUSINESS STRENGTH2 FINANCIAL RESILIENCE3 EXECUTION CLARITY4

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1 TEAM HEALTH & SAFETY
TEAM HEALTH & SAFETY BUSINESS STRENGTH FINANCIAL RESILIENCE EXECUTION CLARITY OVERVIEW
4
Hygiene and cleaning
■ Adjust workplace cleaning protocol
(e.g., increase in-office cleaning, reinforce station
changeover SOPs)
■ Conduct health/temperature check for employees/
visitors at workplace where warranted
■ Communicate personal hygiene good practices; educate
on social distancing measures
■ Provide masks, wipes etc. for onsite employees
■ Introduce employee self-quarantine policy based
on travel history/health status
■ Create a safe channel for employees to notify
company about an infection
■ Provide contact information for tele-docs for remote
counseling (and expand availability if needed)
■ Establish policies around forced time off in case of
infection/quarantine and refine paid time off policies
—and return guarantees—to prevent sick employees
from coming to work
■ Identify, monitor, and protect critical personnel,
roles, and activities
■ Communicate proactively about all aspects
of the business and efforts undertaken
■ Organize information sessions and calls to address
employees’ questions
■ Prepare for changes in environment (e.g., policy
changes in the case of a reduction in government
services such as school closures)
■ Start thinking about target-setting and implications
for compensation in a time of uncertainty
■ Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
(e.g., OSHA, FMLA, ADA in the US)
■ Engage with work councils and unions as
appropriate for respective region(s) of operation
Separate teams to ensure they work in different,
satellite locations and/or non-overlapping time
slots (e.g., every other week)
■ Implement A-team/B-team splits for onsite operations
■ Restrict use of office for certain groups (e.g. visitors,
non-critical personnel) and reduce in-person meetings
(e.g., trainings, daily operations stand-ups), face-to-face
interaction, and social gatherings
■ Establish work-from-home (WfH) policies where possible
and ensure appropriate technological infrastructure
support (e.g., IT solutions, VPNs, virtual meetings
including video-conferences)
■ Adjust travel policies (e.g., reduce non-essential travel–
especially to highly impacted areas, reduce cross-facility
travel and third-party presence) and modify sick leave
policies to align incentives and encourage precaution
Support those who
are/may be infected
B
Manage stress
and boost morale
C
D
Reduce risk
of transmission
A

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BUSINESS STRENGTHTEAM HEALTH & SAFETY
2 BUSINESS STRENGTH (1 OF 2)
EXECUTION CLARITYFINANCIAL RESILIENCE OVERVIEW
5
Establish supply chain rapid response team
to monitor and update assessments and actions
■ Prioritize public health and safety-critical products
and services and ensure alignment and awareness
upstream and downstream
■ Mobilize central “war room” to evaluate and address
supply vulnerabilities and monitor risk daily
■ Actively communicate to minimize business disruption
from supply constraints (review impact on manufacturing,
suppliers-tier 1/2/3, logistics)
■ Implement product/service allocation processes
for constrained assets and/or supplies
■ Plan for reductions in range of offerings to reduce
complexity while maximizing stakeholder/customer benefit
Identify and mitigate risks with both immediate
and mid-term view
■ Activate alternatives and contingencies for critical
components, operations, and logistics routes
■ Plan for near- long-term impact in conjunction
with lead times value chain (critical SOP
focused on 3-12 mos., not just immediate term)
■ Evaluate alternative demand/supply scenarios and
their impact on capacity, and determine mitigation
strategies (new local sourcing, etc.)
■ Shift inventory position to manage impact
of near- long-term market/health scenarios
(e.g., safety stock/forward buying, space
constraints)
■ Ensure proper safety precautions inbound from
suppliers and outbound from facilities with
consideration to lead times
Reinforce ability
to supply
Establish demand-side rapid response team
to monitor marketing, sales and pricing implications
■ Model top line revenue implications and adapt go-to-market
strategies (e.g., implications for salesforce effectiveness)
■ Monitor key metrics to prevent capitalizing on the crisis
for short-term gains (e.g., price gouging)
Understand changing customer needs
■ Reach out to customers to understand their situation
and needs; communicate clear plan to mitigate risks
and ensure business continuity
■ Observe and respond to shifts in customer behaviors;
use 01’ and 08’ shocks to predict likely shifts
■ Define actions/messages to show confidence and ensure
ability to deliver to customers
(e.g., multichannel, people-light approaches)
■ Build confidence with customers in small (e.g., sanitizer at
POS) and big ways (e.g., mass outreach, adjust return policy)
Refocus product and service offering
■ Evaluate opportunities to ensure stronger linkages
with key customers (e.g., via contracts, discounts,
financial support)
■ Resource less affected channels, products and services
appropriately (e.g., focus on online vs. offline retail)
Understand liquidity and business position of key
suppliers and associated risks
■ Create “COVID-19 Supplier Audit”, assess critical vendors
(also consider vendor risk given location, size, operational
processes, etc.), and provide action oriented feedback
■ Provide financial/non-financial support to value chain
partners (if feasible)
BA

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BUSINESS STRENGTH (2 OF 2)
BUSINESS STRENGTHTEAM HEALTH SAFETY EXECUTION CLARITYFINANCIAL RESILIENCE OVERVIEW
2
6
■ Identify and prioritize critical products/services
needed for rapid response
■ Focus on critical constraints in internal as well
as external value chain elements
■ Assess and manage Shared Service Center
risks to ensure business continuity, in particular
when offshored/outsourced
■ Where possible, explore opportunities to partner
with other companies to optimize resources (e.g.,
delivery companies borrowed staff from physical
restaurant chains in China)
■ Leverage lessons learned from other countries where
the crisis has progressed further (e.g., China)
■ Track competitors’ situations and actions to inform
strategic, operational, and financial decision making
■ Examine sector viability: Identify collaboration
opportunities to accelerate resolution
(e.g., collaboration to develop COVID-19-vaccine)
■ Redefine budgets and targets as frequently as possible
and necessarily (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) by
geography/market/segment
■ Leverage intelligence (e.g., activate your salesforce
for customer/distributor outreach surveys) to identify
“inflection point” (when the situation gets stabilized and
consumption confidence returns) ramp up/redirect
sales activities, inventory, trade support, and marketing
■ Identify company-specific scenarios informed by
potential macroeconomic scenarios
(e.g., “W”, “U”, “L”, “V”)
■ Ensure appropriate capacity (internal or external)
to respond to potential shifts in demand
■ Actively assess acquisition opportunities
(e.g., distressed assets, countercyclical
investments)
■ Explore opportunities to configure “comeback
marketing campaign” in advance, quickly pick up
ad spending post-epidemic (craft new product and
service story and create new selling points)
■ Prepare for bold moves and implement learnings
with regards to business model modifications
Adapt resources to
meet business needs
C
Prepare for
bounce-back scenarios
E
Monitor respond to market and
competitive dynamics
D

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FINANCIAL RESILIENCE
3 FINANCIAL RESILIENCE
EXECUTION CLARITYBUSINESS STRENGTHTEAM HEALTH SAFETY OVERVIEW
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■ Ensure procurement control tower in place
(e.g., PO authorization processes, active
management of open POs and delivery
schedules)
■ Variabilize cost to as great an extent as possible
(e.g., enabling voluntary LOAs, slowing or
pausing discretionary hiring)
■ Understand employee base (e.g., best
attendance records, longest history with
company) to prepare for uncertain future
■ Avoid conducting business-as-usual under
pre-crisis assumptions (e.g., signing lease
agreements or renewals)
■ Mitigate or redirect discretionary spend to
build financial flexibility (such as marketing;
however, avoid removing all ads and cautiously
select marketing channels during epidemic)
■ Conduct scenario planning and develop
action plan accordingly
■ Perform financial and liquidity stress test and
conduct rollings forecasts
■ Engage with shareholders and assess activism
vulnerability
■ Revise target-setting and objectives
(e.g., sales targets, production plans,
related KPIs)
■ Communicate financial resilience to key
stakeholders
■ Reset investor expectations around guidance
(e.g., top-line, EPS) with a focus on
the medium-term
■ Explore alternative and deferred compensation
models for high-earning colleagues
Establish liquidity office to forecast cash
flows and manage/mitigate risks
■ Ensure rigorous, prudent cash management
and governance and reduce non-critical uses of cash
■ Prepare for significant changes to cash conversion cycle
(e.g., cash terms with key suppliers and customers)
■ Adjust working capital (inventory management and payment terms)
to ensure ongoing delivery of high-priority products/services
■ Review debt retirement schedule and covenants
Stress-test cash flow from financing/investing
based on market scenarios
■ Secure and/or access financing options (e.g., credit
lines, revolvers); engage with debt holders/banks to discuss
potential for extended financing
■ Assess credit risks to current accounts receivable
■ Review of commitments, MAC clauses and Force Majeure options
Assess viability of current investment roadmaps
and dividend policy and share repurchase plans
■ Postpone non-critical capital expenditure
■ Rationalize short/medium-term capital spending unless it offers
a clear longer-term competitive advantage
■ However: Identify opportunities to bring forward asset enhancements
if cash/liquidity is not an issue and asset not/only marginally utilized
due to outbreak (e.g. store/hotel renovations, servicing of equipment)
Ensure cost
discipline
B
Revise financial plan and perform
scenario-based stress tests
C
Manage cash
and liquidity
A

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EXECUTION CLARITY
BUSINESS STRENGTH FINANCIAL RESILIENCE EXECUTION CLARITYTEAM HEALTH SAFETY
Coordinate and scale
response and planning
Empower
the team
Engage the
organization
Lead with purpose
and integrity
Protect leadership continuity
B C
■ Identify critical processes and key resources (HR, Finance,
Procurement, IT, Legal, Real Estate etc.)
■ Set up daily rapid response meetings to provide fact-based
analysis to enable fast, high quality decision making
D
A
■ Macro: Vary scenarios by shape and severity
of broad economic impact
■ Internal/company-specific: Build view on potential
impacts to team, PL, cash flow, and balance sheet
■ Identify, track, and mitigate existing and new risks
Set up a central, cross-functional, rapid-response team
(PMO) to make clear decisions, and monitor/take control
of the situation (enabled with necessary decision
authority and sufficient staffing to take a day-to-day
agile approach to navigate changing environment)
OVERVIEW
Develop concrete action plans based on 3-5 medium-
term scenarios (i.e., “W”,”U”,”L”, “V”) and clearly
communicate action plans to key stakeholders
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CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON
TEAM HEALTH SAFETY
■ Tell your employees what they should be doing in
order to prevent organizational paralysis,confusion
and misinformation communicate,– communicate,
communicate!
■ Provide clear direction on operational boundaries
and principles (e.g., owned and shared
accountabilities, decisiveness, entrepreneurial
mindset, act rapidly flexibly and be engaged)
to enable frontline leaders to execute
■ Establish a two-way communication /QA channel
■ Gauge current sentiment within organization
(e.g., via short online survey, dedicated
communication channels, cascading team calls)
■ Provide honest and frequent 360-communication
through multiple channels
■ Set up a digital information hub for all the latest
policies and information
■ Unlock discretionary effort beyond regular roles
and responsibilities by suggesting “if you want
to be involved in X, then contact Y”
■ Find ways to support your employees, community
and society
■ Reinforce your vision, mission purpose and/or
highlight critical elements of your company’s value
to customers
■ Leverage your resources/network to make a
difference by providing products and services
(beyond monetary donations) to affected people at
your company and in your communities
CLICK HERE FOR SAMPLE
RAPID RESPONSE PMO
STRUCTURE

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